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Victim of Sudan’s Public Order Regime Speaks Out
Sunday, 14 November 2010 21:41
By JollofNews CorrespondentA panel of discussion on the human rights issues in Sudan provided a platform for Amira Osman, a victim of the country’s notorious Public Order Regime to unveil the dramatic situation she went through after being arrested by Sudanese security forces for violating the dress code.
Jointly organized on Friday night by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the International Refugee Rights Initiative, and the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa Network, the side event was an opportunity to highlight all the manifestations
and impact of this arbitrary regime on the lives of many women from all walks of life in Sudan. It was held on the margins of the just concluded 48th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, at Sheraton Hotel & Resorts in Brusubi.
“In late July 2002, around 8 pm, I was walking with my friend in Africa Street in Khartoum. We were heading towards an internet café. We felt that there were two men following us and they started to harass us and shouted some sexually abusive language, but we ignored them. At that time, I was wearing jean trouser and short-sleeve shirt and hanging a scarf around my neck; my friend was wearing skirt and long-sleeve shirt and covering her head,” Amira Osman explained in a poignant tone.
Far from ending, their ordeal intensified with the security officers getting more aggressive. “The two men got more aggressive and they asked us to stop, as we asked them what they wanted from us. Then another two appeared and they joined them in telling us that we are
wearing indecent cloth, especially me.
They were very abusive to me and told me: “you are indecent woman and you are coming from indecent family.” I asked them to show me their identity, and they showed their cards in my face.”
In lifting a corner of the veil of the abuse she suffered in the hands of those police men, she indicated that they were later taken to the Public Order Police station in Khartoum, Almugran District. “These police were in plain clothes at that time and driving a civilian registered car. We were ordered to get inside the car. On the way to the station they told us not to be stubborn and that we should give them our phone number or could have “relationship” with them and everything would be OK. They were alluding to have some sexual
favors.”
As the meeting grew saddened by Amira Osman’s account, she went even deeper into a heart-wrenching scenario that left the audience flabbergasted. “In the station we were asked to enter a room where 8 police officers were sitting and started abusing and humiliating us, saying that we were not decent women and that we were coming from indecent family. They asked us to walk around and turn around the room to examine how revealing or tight our cloths were. The officer, who arrested us, gave order to a junior policeman to take us to another room and to take our details (name, address, etc). He asked him to charge us under article 152 of the Criminal Act 1991.”
Pushing the cynical logic to its extreme, the police refused to let them get in touch with their family. “Inside the interrogation room, I requested the policeman to let me contact my family, he refused. He proceeded to grasp my phone and we scuffled and he twisted my arm and pushed me into the cell. Inside the cell, there were about 15 women, and three of them were arrested because of their dress and three Southern Sudanese for drinking alcohol.”
Luckily, Amira’s friend happened to have managed to hide her phone, enabling them to my sister who is a lawyer. Subsequently, her sister informed contacted some other lawyers and informed their families about the incident. “Eventually, we were released on bail. Our lawyer told us the case will be presented before Al Sajana Court in front of a relatively fair judge. But in the morning, the police officer who had arrested us managed somehow to move our case to another court in Khartoum centre,” she said.
In such a context, the guilty verdict in regard to the charge appeared to be arbitrary, even irrational. “As the court procedure started,” she went on, “the judge listened to the eyewitnesses’ (the police officers) statement, examined the dress and asked whether the dress was tight. I told him I could wear it for him to have a look himself. He refused and decided to fine 200 SDG (about US$75) each or 1 month in prison. We remained in the cell until 2 pm and our families managed to pay the money to the court and we were released.”
She concluded by saying that over these past 8 years, she was arrested 6 times by the public order police for being a serial dress code violator…
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